Born on January 20, 1922 in East St. Louis,
Illinois; Samuel “Sam” Jethroe played most of his ten year Negro League
baseball career (1938 – 1948) with the Cleveland Buckeyes. Nicknamed “The Jet”, the speedy switch
hitting outfielder helped the Buckeyes win the 1945 Negro League World Series
Championship and participated in three East-West Negro League All Star games.
In 1948, Jethroe became the fifth African-American
player signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers.
However, after two stellar minor league seasons, he was sold to the
Boston Braves. The Dodgers justified the
sale saying they had enough outfielders, including a fast developing Duke
Snider and Carl Furillo. With Jackie
Robinson, Roy Campanella, and Don Newcombe already on the team, a reluctance to
have four African-American players also contributed to Jethroe being sold.
Jethroe became the first African-American to play
professional baseball for a Boston team.
The city’s American League franchise, the Boston Red Sox, would remain
all white for another nine years. After
a slow start; he hit .273, led the league in stolen bases with 35, and was
named the 1950 National League Rookie of the Year. In 1951, Jethroe hit .283 and again led the
league in stolen bases with 35.
His success at the plate was tempered by his
fielding deficiencies, he led the league in errors as an outfielder for three
years, After Jethroe only hit .232 in 1952, another speedy African-American
became the team’s center fielder the next season; Billy Bruton. Although he had a few good seasons in the
minor leagues, Sam Jethroe only played two more Major Leagues games; 1954 with
the Pittsburgh Pirates after he left the Braves.
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